1860 Medallion .. I wouldn't take one cent for it!

[creskol]

This is my best find for today.. an 1850 Large Cent medallion. Should I clean it or leave it "as is" .. that is the decision I am grappling with.

 

[jeff of pa]

nice find. Last time I Cleaned a Large Cent it looked Like a Slug after removing all the Toning .

Don't Do it !

You may Cry after !

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

A very unique find indeed - well done !

A tough call ... as already mentioned - it's not a rare dated coin - I think I'd 50/50 clean it.
And yes, you could clean only one side of it and leave the other side as is.

I know two guy's that recovered a ships bell from an ocean liner shipwreck years ago.
They couldn't decide if they should clean it or not.
The ended up cleaning and polishing the front half with the name and date on it and left the back covered with barnacles.
The bell looked fantastic !

Good Luck !

 

[lenmac65]

I don't think I would risk damaging it, especially since it looks like most debris is already gone. Congrats on an interesting find!

 

[creskol]

Thanks all! I appreciate your thoughts.

 

[Trezurehunter]

One more vote for "Leave it as is". I like relics / coins like they come out of the ground, and rarely do anything to clean them, other than water them off. Ground patina is a great thing.

 

[GeoW]

If you clean it it will never be as found. You can clean it many times after the first time but it will never look as found after cleaning once.

g

 

[djackson7348]

Unique piece. I would clean it with a soft toothbrush at most and either wear or display it. The patina tells the story so well.

 

[ecmo]

Really neat and leave it.....if there was only a way to keep that look you get when you rub olive oil on coins.

 

[jewelerguy]

looks to me like a home made watch fob, and a cool one at that

 

[GaRebel1861]

Very cool find! I’d leave it as I found it. JMO.

 

[Relicific]

Those converted coins are such great finds

 

[xcopperstax]

Very cool! It's not very often you see a large cent in a bezel! I bet it was lost a long time ago due to the crud on the coin but who knows. Excellent find!

 

[gold panner]

killer find!

 

[HIGHSTRUNG]

Very nice find! Not sure what I would do with it.

 

[mcmich]

Agree, leave as is, maybe wax it and use as a keychain. Looks nice!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome personal jewelry recovery! IMHO, leave it as you found it.